New Yard Gate

I came across this picture of the Vrana home place dated August 13, 1946, this afternoon. It was apparently taken to show our new yard gate. Our ’37 Chevy adds to the interest of the setting. A picture  like this brings back a raft of memories. WWII was over, and we were farming 3 places in addition to the “home place”. I used the Model A John Deere and Don, who had just graduated from Garland HS, used the Oliver 70. Dad did a lot of farming of the home place with horses. The new white gate was really a symbol of our having money available to buy lumber and enjoy such “luxeries". This gate and the one up next to the house were part of the new yard fence to keep the chickens out of the front yard and garden. It was also during August of 1946 that Don Armstrong, Bub Wilken, brother Don and I drove sister Vivian’s Model A Ford through the Badlands of South Dakota, the Black Hills and on to Yellowstone National Park. Elaine and I didn’t meet until a few months later and the next year we rented the farm north of Staplehurst. While we continued to live in both places for a couple years, this picture helps mark the end of a Chapter that began with our move to the farm on February 8, 1932. The next Chapter began as Elaine alerted me to a job with the Soil Conservation Service and additional Chapters followed.